The Wait

Our family held out Christmas shin-dig on Sunday. My dad was up and about and we had many laughs over gifts and my nieces.

It's a good thing we celebrated early because Monday he crashed on me. It took a lot of morphine and ativan to make him comfortable. His O2 dropped to alarmingly low levels.

We have begun the wait.

He is comfortable and has moments where he is lucid and wants to chat. But let me tell you this situation sucks balls. I am trying very hard to stay strong.

And in the middle of all this - my damn tooth fell out so I need oral surgery ASAP.

And to top THAT off ... Hampton is home with a hot, swollen hind ankle. I am just hoping it is cellulitis - he is on SMZs. But if it doesn't improve, I'll have to call the vet. My mind is thinking BLOWN LOWER SUSPENSORY because that is sure what it looked like at first. He is sound at the walk.

I can't do anything for him right now so .... I don't know.

I am not religious (but my dad is),  but I would really apprecitate anyone's prayers, jingles, whatevers. We are all running on no sleep at the moment so excuse any typos.

Life is really being a real ho-bag right now.

Will update later.

Love you all.

And the winner is ...

QUIZ:

Which animal had the most expensive vet bill in November?

a) HORSE. Ran high fever for several days.
    Bill included farm call, exam and shot of banamine.

b) CAT. Constipated.
    Bill included XRay, 2 enemas, fluids and exam.


.......

Was it this creature?

Or this one?

If you guessed B: THE CONSTIPATED CAT - you are correct!!! 

The fat furrball cost me upwards of $300, and the horse's bill was a much more manageable $150.

The lesson here kids and make sure your cat poops.

In other news: Hampton's new bridle is IN TRANSIT and I am stalking the UPS tracker number. I cannot wait to get my grabby hands all over that thing! #tackwhore

Wait, weight!

Man, sorry for the downer of a post last time. But it's real life.

In case I go MIA from the blog, you'll know why. My poor family is limping through the holidays. But I'm keeping my head up, and trying to keep people laughing. Because what else are you going to do?

Looking more "angular" these days. Bye bye bangin topline. Sad face.

Hampton is my main shoulder of support. Good thing he has big shoulders! He is enjoying some down time. He more than deserved it this year. In the 8 years we have been together, he really hasn't had any good amount of downtime. Maybe a week here or there.

I figure well, people give their 4-star event horses serious time off, no reason Hampton can't enjoy a vacation!

Sporting a fresh clip though. Not a total vacation, horse!

"Let me just look as awkward as possible for your stooopid photos"

"I don't hear you."

He is still working - just light work. I have some topline I need to rebuild. He lost a lot of weight and topline on me because of his illness. Oh, and the fact that he spent the 4 nights in isolation WALKING AND WALKING ruts into the drylot. It's so fucked. SO I bet that took some pounds off too! Argh. Horses. He is also now getting soaked Alfalfa cubes and Equine Senior in addition to his regular grain. If that doesn't help, I have other tricks up my sleeve. Hampton is notorious for dropping weight in the winter no matter what I friggin do. SO. Let's keep that to a minimum this year, horse.

So we do lots of stretching, hacks, long lining. And maybe one or two days of real work. I don't want him to lose too much fitness, but also do want him to have significant downtime.

We'll start legging back up in mid-January most likely.

Do you all give your show horses time off?

Also do feel free to offer opinions on putting weight on ... I am always open to new suggestions and tricks!

Still fat. No weight loss here.

The Last Gift

I have always been one to put a lot of thought into Christmas gifts. I may not spend a ton of money on them, but I try to make them thoughtful, humorous or clever.

What do you buy for someone who won't be around much longer?

What do you buy for someone who is dying?

Specifically, what should I buy for my father.

Perhaps I'll write a more detailed post at some point, but I'll say that cancer can go fuck itself. It can go fuck itself right up its ass, sideways on a carousel even.

I really am at a loss here. Any gift I think of seems so ... trivial. Like material possessions just don't matter anymore.

I'm already giving time. So much time. Even if we just sit there and don't say anything. And of course I'm helping with chores, various things around the house. Errands. I have learned so much about my father (and mother!) in the last few months than I ever have. Also learned my great-grand father was a blazing racist ... so uhhh, there is that.

We are all aware this will be the "last Christmas." It's like a heavy cloud that sort of looms around the room. As is customary in my family, we all just go on and try to be happy and laugh as if this cloud isn't there. We are all afraid of losing control of our stoic appearances.

And on the other hand, we are realists. We know what's happening. My father is very aware and has prepared just about everything you can think of.

He has everything and nothing at the same time.

How do you go about buying the last gift? How in the world do I hand this gift to him?

Reflecting on 2017

I usually take all the ribbons I won during the year, and hang them all over Hampton and force him to stand for a photo.

This was 2016's loot

There was a problem this year.

Too many ribbons. Too many awards. So much progress! Our greatest achievements are frankly intangible.

So, Hampton lucked out this year and was only forced to pose with our Indiana Dressage Society year-end championship ribbon.

To cap off our year, the IDS banquet was well done. I must say that IDS really does a great job with recognizing its members. Especially those who did not show at Regionals or Nationals. There really is an award for everyone. You don't have to be a big name getting 70%s all over town. So kudos to IDS. Lovely awards as well!

I had a lovely time hanging out with Liz and Jen (Cob Jockey) and Bryn - my core show buddies. Thankfully it was a cash bar so I was limited to one rum and coke. Sadly not much blog fodder though since I was sober. Womp womp.

Hampton earned 2017 Third Level AA Champion, and I also earned a couple of Rider Achievement awards at Third and Fourth levels. Many well deserving people were recognized.

I'll just stand here. All boss and shit.

Despite missing out on Finals, 2017 was by far the most successful year I have EVER had.
In 25+ years of showing horses.

* Multiple high-point championship wins at Second, Third AND Fourth levels
* Dover medal
* USDF Horse performance award at Third Level
* Qualified for Regionals
* USDF Silver Medal
* Debut at PSG
* Top 10 in Third Level AA Championships at Regionals
* Earned a wildcard ticket to Finals/Nationals
* IDS Champion AA Third Level 2017

To celebrate I bought Hampton a new CUSTOM double bridle!! 
(Yes don't worry I will show it off when it arrives!)

If you had told me we would have accomplished this back in April, I would have laughed right in your face. You may remember our first show of the year did not go well.

We looked like this:

Nope. Couldn't even get my horse on the bit.
AT FOURTH LEVEL.
Check out out cranky and stiff he was.

But then I took a step back. Rebuilt confidence, and treated Hampton for some discomfort and ulcers.

Now I have a confident horse who is feeling great. My own riding in the ring improved significantly. And most importantly, the whole season was just so much fun. In great part due to the wonderful friends I have. And their horses who are all characters.

Ah much better. Ears up and letting me ride him.

Happy Hampton!

I'm not sure what 2018 will hold yet. We have our big clinic in April, but I haven't really gone through the calendar yet.

But you all know I dream big. Maybe ... MAAAAYBE ... by the end of 2018 I can do an I-1?

:)

Tour of Hagyard

Hope everyone had a fabulous turkey day. :)

Last week I was on vacation from work, so decided to take a trip to Lexington and tour Hagyard Equine Medical Institute.

Surgery building was quiet

Hopefully I never have to take a horse to the clinic, but if I did I would certainly feel comfortable with Hagyard. I had a wonderful, friendly tour guide and there was no one else on the tour (because November), so it was like a private tour to myself!

On the downside, there was also very little going on in the clinic. Many of the staff were on vacation before breeding season starts again. Can't say that I blame them.

But even so, I found it super interesting and eye opening.

There are multiple building on the campus, ranging from the Davidson surgery center, to the NICU, to a separate isolation ward.

There was also ample turnout for horses that were cleared to do so. It's Kentucky, so of course it was gorgeous.

The most surgeries performed in one day? 60. Only two vets are on site at a time for the most part (many are out in the field, and there are about 50 vets on staff).

Hagyard sees about 300 neonatal foals per year on top of the "normal" issues that come in. They see all types of horses, but the Thoroughbred industry dominates most of the patients. As is normal in Kentucky.

Turn outs.

They also have a hyperbaric oxygen chamber (I forgot to take a photo) which was neat to see, and a totally separate podiatry center.

It is world class, state of the art care. Everything was clean, organized and runs like a well oiled machine.

I also noticed little details (as horse people do) that were super neat. For instance, in the NICU and primary care wards, you muck out each stall into it's own individual trap door. Then a conveyor belt moves the waste out underground, then back out behind the building into a truck. I found this super awesome - not only does it prevent contamination and spreading germs, there are no wheelbarrows or muck tubs to haul around!

There are also oxygen ports in each stall should a horse need that support.

There WAS one baby in the NICU! Think she will probably make it. :)

The floors are non-slip, but easily hosed off.

I must say the hoist system in the surgery building was fascinating. The system was so expansive, that you could even pull your trailer up to a ramp, and the hoist could be fastened to your horse out in the trailer. Perfect if you've got one who is down already in the trailer.

Each knock-down room was clean, well padded and set up so efficiently for moving horses quickly through surgery and recovery in a very safe manner.

They also have 7 blood donor horses who live on site. Horses can give 8 liters a blood every 30 days. During foaling season, our guide says that at times all 7 horses will be tapped out. So some of the vets and staff will offer their personal horses to donate blood.

I am already planning a return trip and another tour in March so I can oogle over all da babies. There will likely be more surgeries going on as well.

There were a few patients I did say hello to. A carriage horse who undiagnosed, but on fluids with a case of the icks. A saddlebred with colic. A 2-year TB mare who was in A-fib, and a young filly with pneumonia. She had a chest drain in. Poor thing.

They are super protective about patient confidentiality. The patients do not have ID on their doors, and you are not allowed to take photos of patients. I totally respect that. They have multi multi million dollar horses come through those doors sometimes.

I would highly recommend if you are ever in Lexington!

Back to normal

Great news!

Hampton is back to 100% although he is still finishing up his antibiotics.

Yup. Horse is back to normal. Nothing to see here.

Culprit was most likely a tick, although I'll never know for sure. I found a nasty, raw, oozing infected spot on his tail where it appears a tick had been. So it's very likely that was the cause. So he's being treated as if it was.

I'm unsure WHAT tick borne illness it is, but the antibiotics cover the major ones.

He is back in work and feeling quite ... spritely. And is back to his normal antics of trying to remove his muzzle, molesting me for treats and in general being a total character that is the Porkchop.

I really appreciate everyone's support and comments! Man it was scary for those few days where we didn't know what the heck it was! I have never seen his eyes so listless.

Very grateful to have my Porkchop back in full form.

I'll hopefully have some interesting posts this week including the IDS year-end banquet, and a tour of Haygard.

It was so windy the port o potty went boom!

:)